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"Great Man" Theory of leadership
"Great Man" theories of leadership, also known as "Trait" theories of leadership, propose that leadership
effectiveness is primarily determined by the inherent qualities (charisma, confidence, intelligence, and
social skills) and characteristics of the leader rather than external factors or situational circumstances.
These theories emerged in the 19th century and were influential in shaping early leadership thought. Here
are some key points and notes on "Great Man" theories of leadership:
1. Inherent Traits: "Great Man" theories suggest that leaders possess certain innate traits or qualities that
make them exceptional leaders. These traits are believed to be relatively stable and consistent across
different situations.
2. Historical Perspective: These theories often focus on historical figures or exceptional leaders from the past
to identify common traits. Examples include Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston
Churchill.
3. Key Traits: Some of the key traits identified in "Great Man" theories include intelligence, self-confidence,
charisma, determination, integrity, and decisiveness. Leaders are thought to be born with these traits.
4. Gender Bias: Early versions of these theories were biased towards male leaders, as most of the historical
figures analysed were men. This bias has been criticized for neglecting the leadership qualities of women.
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5. Limitations: "Great Man" theories have been heavily criticized for oversimplifying leadership by
reducing it to a set of inherent traits. They ignore the role of situational factors, context, and the
followers' contributions to leadership effectiveness.
6. Empirical Challenges: Research attempting to identify consistent traits among effective leaders
has yielded mixed results. There is no definitive set of traits that universally predicts leadership
success.
7. Transformational Leadership: While "Great Man" theories have lost popularity, some elements
have been incorporated into more modern leadership theories, such as transformational leadership.
Transformational leaders are seen as having qualities like charisma and the ability to inspire and
motivate others.
8. Leadership Development: Despite the limitations of "Great Man" theories, they have contributed
to discussions on leadership development. Organizations may still seek individuals with specific
traits for leadership roles but recognize the importance of training and development.
9. Contemporary Views: Contemporary leadership theories emphasize a more complex view of
leadership that considers the interaction between leaders, followers, and the situation. The concept of
"leadership as a process" is a departure from the "Great Man" perspective.
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The trait theory of leadership postulates that successful leadership arises from
certain inborn personality traits and characteristics that produce consistent
behavioral patterns.
The trait theory of leadership is tied to the "great man" theory of leadership first
proposed by Thomas Carlyle in the mid-1800s.
Leadership Traits- While the list of leadership traits can vary by whoever is
drawing up the list, a recent study outlined behavioral traits that separated
lower-level supervisors from higher-level supervisors.
Trait Theory of Leadership
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Trait Theory of Leadership
Adaptability and flexibility
Assertiveness
Capacity to motivate people
Courage and resolution
Creativity
Decisiveness
Eagerness to accept responsibility
Emotional stability
Intelligence and action-oriented judgment
People skills
Perseverance
Trustworthiness
Understanding their followers and
their needs
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Behavioural Theory Of Leadership
The behavioural leadership theory is a management theory that evaluates leaders
according to their behaviours, actions and management style.
This philosophy proposes that all you require to become an influential leader is to
adopt a specific set of behaviours.
If you are looking to become a better leader or implement a new leadership style, you
can benefit from learning about this theory and the different types of leadership it
defines.
The behavioural theory of leadership, also known as the style theory, focuses on
patterns of behaviours, categorised as 'styles of leadership'. Some leadership styles
include task-oriented, people-oriented, status-quo, and dictatorial leaders.
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Types of behavioural leadership
People-oriented leaders
Task-oriented leaders
Participative leaders
Status-quo leaders
Indifferent leaders
Dictatorial leaders
Country club leaders
Opportunistic leaders
Paternalistic leaders
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The Ohio State Leadership Studies
The Ohio State Leadership Studies is a behavioral leadership theory that shows that leadership
performance depends on two categories of behaviors: Initiating Structure and Consideration.
The Ohio State Leadership Studies also concluded that you are not born to become a leader;
you can learn, practice, and develop yourself to become one.
In the mid-1940s, when trait theory was dominant within the field of leadership studies,
researchers at Ohio State University sought to draw conclusions of how different leadership
behaviors affected leadership performance.
The research team created the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, or LBDQ for short, to
study leadership better.
The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire consists of 150 statements regarding
leadership behaviors
After successfully identifying several different behaviors affecting leadership performance, these
were grouped into two categories, namely: Initiating Structure and Consideration behavior.
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Initiating Structure
Initiating Structure is a category of leadership behaviors aimed at creating clarity
and structure for an organization. A high level of Initiating-Structure behavior
means a high definition of roles, tasks, expectations, schedules, etc.
High levels of Initiating Structure behavior also mean the leader makes all
decisions, punishes sub-par performance among followers, and underlines the
importance of results. An extreme case of this will in fact be more like the
autocratic leadership style from the Lewin leadership styles, which should be
avoided at all cost
In other leadership models, initiating structure has other names such as Task-
oriented leadership.
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Consideration Behavior
Consideration behavior is a category of leadership behaviors focusing on relationships and
the welfare of people.
The level of Consideration behaviors set the leader's level of empathy and focus on people.
High consideration behavior signifies a strive for trust, interest in the followers’ feelings, and
a willingness to create warm relationships within the team.
A leader with high consideration behavior uses active listening, understands the strengths
and weaknesses of each team member, and supports them as required.
The Ohio State leadership research suggests that these two leadership behaviors lead to
four possible outcomes, or quadrants, with four different leadership styles reflecting the
leader’s behavior.
The Ohio State Leadership Studies’ Initiating Structure and Consideration behaviors result in
four leadership styles:
i. Low initiating structure with high consideration behavior.
ii. High initiating structure combined with low consideration behavior.
iii. Low levels of both behavior categories.
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Michigan Leadership Studies
Michigan Leadership Studies is a behavioral Leadership
Theory that indicates the Institute for Social Research at
the University of Michigan conducted empirical studies to
identify styles of leader behavior that result in higher
performance and satisfaction of a group
The Michigan leadership studies identified two distinct
styles of leadership;
1. Job-centered Leadership
2. Employee-centered Leadership
Job-centered Leadership : Managers using job-centered
leadership behavior pay close attention to subordinates’
work, explain work procedures and are keenly interested in
performance.
Employee-centered Leadership: Managers using employee-
centered leader behavior are interested in developing a
cohesive workgroup and ensuring that employees are
satisfied with their jobs.
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Evaluation of Michigan Leadership
Studies
The Michigan Leadership Studies found that both styles of leadership led to an
increase in production, but it was slightly more in the case of production of the job-
centered style
However, the use of direct pressure and close supervision led to decreased
satisfaction and increased turnover and absenteeism.
The employee-centered approach led to improved workflow procedures and more
interaction cohesion, resulting in increased satisfaction and decreased turnover and
absenteeism.
This suggested the superiority of the employee-centered leadership style.
The Michigan Leadership Studies were conducted around the same time as the Ohio
State Leadership Studies, which also identified the focus on tasks and people.
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Contingency Theory of Leadership
Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables
related to the environment that might determine which particular
style of leadership is best suited for the situation. According to
this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations.
Leadership researchers White and Hodgson suggest that truly
effective leadership is not just about the qualities of the leader, it
is about striking the right balance between behaviors, needs,
and context.
Good leaders are able to assess the needs of their followers,
take stock of the situation, and then adjust their behaviors
accordingly. Success depends on a number of variables
including the leadership style, qualities of the followers, and
aspects of the situation.
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Lorsch notes several contingencies that affect the ideal type of leader for an
organization:
1. Followers’ expectations of their leaders, such as the degree to which leaders are
expected to be involved in decisions and provide direction; their level of technical or
professional competence; and the degree to which they bond with followers.
2. Organizational complexity, including the size of the organization, which affects many
factors, including the levers of power and influence available to leaders and the relative
difficulty of conveying one’s message, competence, and charisma.
3. International differences. Operating in a single location makes it easier for leaders to be
known by their followers and to project their competence than operating in multiple, far-
flung locations. Some leaders may excel at cross-cultural communication, while others
will be challenged by it.
4. The organization’s tasks. The work of organizations tends to range from routine and
repetitive (such as manufacturing established products) to innovative and novel (such
as launching untested products). When tasks are certain and straightforward, a more
directive leadership style is more effective; when tasks are uncertain, a more
participative leadership style would be more suitable.
There are four traditional contingency theories: Fiedler's Contingency Theory, Situational
Leadership Theory, Path-Goal Theory, and Decision-Making Theory.
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Fiedler’s Contingency Model
Fred E. Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership effectiveness was based on studies of a wide
range of group effectiveness, and concentrated on the relationship between leadership and
organizational performance
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory purports that there are no wrong kinds of leaders. Instead, leaders
are simply in the wrong situations.
With this in mind, it’s up to you to determine whether your team is organized correctly for you to
lead it in the best way possible.
Fiedler’s Contingency Model states that there’s no one best style of leadership. Instead, a leader’s
effectiveness is determined by whether the leader’s style and the environment in which the leader
is performing complement each other.
Fiedler’s Contingency Concept is based on a theory developed in the mid-1960s by Austrian
psychologist Professor Fred Fiedler after studying the personalities and characteristics of
leaders.He found that a leader’s readiness level came down to two things:
Natural leadership style
Situational favorableness
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Leadership style
Fiedler identified two different styles of leadership behavior based on a test called the Least
Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale.
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Leader’s trait
According to Fiedler, if an organization attempts to achieve group effectiveness through leadership, then there
is a need to assess the leader according to an underlying trait, assess the situation faced by the leader, and
construct a proper match between the two.
In order to assess the attitudes of the leader, Fiedler developed the ‘least preferred co-worker’ (LPC) scale in
which the leaders are asked about the person with whom they least like to work.
The scale is a questionnaire consisting of 16 items used to reflect a leader’s underlying disposition toward
others. The items in the LPC scale are pleasant/unpleasant, friendly/unfriendly, rejecting/accepting,
unenthusiastic/enthusiastic, tense/relaxed, cold/warm, helpful/frustrating, cooperative/uncooperative,
supportive/hostile, quarrelsome/harmonious, efficient/inefficient, gloomy/cheerful, distant/close,
boring/interesting, self-assured/hesitant, open/guarded.
Each item in the scale is given a single ranking of between one and eight points, with eight points indicating the
most favorable rating.
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Fiedler states that leaders with high LPC scores are
relationship-oriented and the ones with low scores are task-
oriented. The high LPC score leaders derived most
satisfaction from interpersonal relationships and therefore
evaluate their least preferred co-workers in fairly favorable
terms. These leaders think about the task accomplishment
only after the relationship need is well satisfied.
On the other hand, the low LPC score leaders derived
satisfaction from performance of the task and attainment of
objectives and only after tasks have been accomplished,
these leaders work on establishing good social and
interpersonal relationships.
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Situational factor
According to Fiedler, a leader’s behavior is dependent upon the favorability of the
leadership situation. Three factors work together to determine how favorable a
situation is to a leader. These are:
Leader-member relations - The degree to which the leaders is trusted and liked by
the group members, and the willingness of the group members to follow the
leader’s guidance
Task structure - The degree to which the group’s task has been described as
structured or unstructured, has been clearly defined and the extent to which it can
be carried out by detailed instructions
Position power - The power of the leader by virtue of the organizational position
and the degree to which the leader can exercise authority on group members in
order to comply with and accept his direction and leadership
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Leadership Effectiveness
The leader’s effectiveness is determined by the
interaction of the leader’s style of behavior and
the favorableness of the situational
characteristics. The most favorable situation is
when leader-member relations are good, the task
is highly structured, and the leader has a strong
position power.
Research on the contingency model has shown
that task-oriented leaders are more effective in
highly favorable (1, 2, 3) and highly unfavorable
situation (7, 8), whereas relationship-oriented
leaders are more effective in situations of
intermediate favorableness (4, 5, 6).
Fiedler also suggested that leaders may act
differently in different situations. Relationship-
oriented leaders generally display task-oriented
behaviors under highly favorable situations and
display relationship-oriented behaviors under
unfavorable intermediate favorable situations.
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Situational Theories of Leadership
Situational theories of leadership work on the assumption that the most effective
style of leadership changes from situation to situation. To be most effective and
successful, a leader must be able to adapt his style and approach to diverse
circumstances.
For example, some employees function better under a leader who is more autocratic
and directive. For others, success will be more likely if the leader can step back and
trust his team to make decisions and carry out plans without the leader’s direct
involvement. On a similar note, not all types of industries and business settings
require the same skills and leadership traits in equal measure. Some fields demand
a large measure of innovation, whereas in others, personal charisma and relational
connection with clients are far more important.
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Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory
The term “situational leadership” is most commonly derived from and connected with Paul Hersey and Ken
Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory. This approach to leadership suggests the need to match two key elements
appropriately: the leader’s leadership style and the followers’ maturity or preparedness levels.
The theory identifies four main leadership approaches:
Telling: Directive and authoritative approach. The leader makes decisions and tells employees what to do.
Selling: The leader is still the decision maker, but he communicates and works to persuade the employees rather
than simply directing them.
Participating: The leader works with the team members to make decisions together. He supports and encourages
them and is more democratic.
Delegating: The leader assigns decision-making responsibility to team members but oversees their work.
In addition to these four approaches to leadership, there are also four levels of follower maturity:
Level M1: Followers have low competence and low commitment.
Level M2: Followers have low competence, but high commitment.
Level M3: Followers have high competence, but low commitment and confidence.
Level M4: Followers have high competence and high commitment and confidence.
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z
As a general rule, each of the four
leadership styles is appropriate for the
corresponding employee maturity
level:
Telling style works best for leading
employees at the M1 level (low
competence, low commitment).
Selling style works best for leading
employees at the M2 level (low
competence, high commitment).
Participating style works best for
leading employees at the M3 level
(high competence, low
commitment/confidence).
Delegating style works best for leading
employees at the M4 level (high
competence, high
commitment/confidence).
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Cognitive resource theory (CRT)
Cognitive resource theory (CRT) is a leadership theory of industrial and
organisational psychology developed by Fred Fiedler and Joe Garcia in 1987 as a
reconceptualisation of the Fiedler contingency model.[1] The theory focuses on the
influence of the leader's intelligence and experience on their reaction to stress.
The cognitive resources of a leader refers to their experience, intelligence,
competence, and task-relevant knowledge.
The effect of intelligence on performance was influenced by how directive the leader
was and both the leader's and members' motivation.
He concluded that a leader's knowledge can only contribute to performance if it is
efficiently communicated, hence requiring a directive leader and also a compliant
group that is willing to undertake the commands of the leader.
A further study on military cadets measuring levels of interpersonal stress and
intelligence showed intelligence to be impaired under conditions of stress.
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Group and Exchange Theories
The group and exchange theories of leadership are derived from social
psychology. These have their roots in the exchange theory. Leaders from different
kinds of relationships with various groups of subordinates. Group theories
describe how leaders need to maintain their position in group dynamics.
It proposes that the leader provides more benefits or regards than burden or
costs to the followers who in exchange help him achieve the goals of the
organization. There must be a positive exchange between the leader and
followers in order for group goals to be accomplished.
